The Silver Road
Where to buy:
If you find your local bookshop doesn’t have a copy, I can recommend a few online sellers who had some last I checked:
www.bookworm.com.au
www.gleebooks.com.au
www.abebooks.com
If you can’t find it at any of these let me know and I’ll search out more sites.
The Back Cover Blurb:
In the peasant village of Obrel, Zuven, a young foundling, wants nothing more than to devote her life to religious service. But there’s a mystery to Zuven’s past, something that others have taken great lengths to keep from her.
Far from Obrel, the noblewoman Yelela defies her family by training to become a soldier. She enrols in a military school in the capital, and there uncovers the Righteous Arrow, a secret society plotting to overthrow the king
Haga, champion swordsom and the son of a powerful baron, has dedicated his life to the Righteous Arrow’s cause. But when Zuven runs away, he despairs of ever seeing their plans fulfilled.
As their journeys diverge and intertwine, as battles are fought and corruptions are exposed, each will learn that destiny is a compelling force… but not even destiny can overcome the will of the individual.
Entries
Hi Grace,
I am the floor manager of Dymocks in Adelaide. On the first Monday night of every month we hold a Fantasy Club in our shop. We have chosen your book for September.
Are you able to tell us if this is a stand alone novel, or will it be part of a series?
I haven’t read the novel mysel as yet, but I certainly will be reading it in the next few weeks. It looks great.
Regards,
Judy
Hi Judy,
Thanks for your note. The novel will in fact be a stand-alone. I’m working on something a little different for my next book.
I hope you have an interesting discussion about it (!).
cheers,
Grace
Hi Grace,
I dont think you’ll remember me, but I go to SOTE, my names Lauren Miller. You’d probably remember me, if you do, as Rosies best friend. Anyway, I just wanted to say that Im really happy for you, for getting published. Id love to be able to! I havent read The Silver Road yet, busy with school and everything, but Im planning to in the holidays. It sounds incredibly interesting, and I cant wait!
Hope all is well,
Lauren
Hi Grace,
My name is Michael and I’m year nine, and I come from Melbourne. I recently bought a copy of the silver road, and it was very interesing to find out in the front pages of it, when you started writing the silver road…I myself have started to right a fantasy novel, I have been working on it for several years and it is coming along quite nicely. I wish to become an english teacher and maybe a creative writing professor aswell, even though it a little odd for a fifteen year old boy to want to become an author/english teacher in this day and age. I was astounded to find that you are everything I aspire to be when I am older.
I was hoping that maybe you would give some advice on getting my novel published and what subjects in school I’m required and/or should take to become an english teacher.
Best wishes and good luck for the upcoming novel,
Michael
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your lovely message. I’m sorry it’s taken me such a long time to respond. I’d like to have a good excuse but really I am just very slack with my email and website stuff.
Great to hear that you’re working on a novel. I hope you’re enjoying it. And I don’t think it’s an odd thing at all. I know many writers who started writing at a young age, and I have a few students (they are 18 or older) who are serious about writing.
As for advice for selling your novel, I suggest you don’t think about it until you have revised it and have a draft that you’re happy with. Then do a bit of research as to who are the agents who handle the kind of thing you’ve written, and what publishers look most appropriate, then send it to them. It’s also good to meet other writers so as to hear all the word of mouth stuff that you can’t get from official channels, and for that you can go to sf conventions (the ones in Melbourne are often pretty good), and join a listserv like vision-writers.
With becoming a teacher/lecturer, you should probably look at doing a BA in English Lit and/or creative writing depending on what appeals, and do a B Ed as well or one of those one-year ones afterward, if you want to be a school teacher. When I was in year 12, all you needed was a C in English and and a goodish OP to get into a BA, but it depends on the university and also in Victoria I’m sure things are much different.
Good luck with everything.
cheers,
Grace
Hi! I am a fifteen year old living in brisbane. I have just recently read your book “The Silver Road” and on behalf of the other silver road fans have come to beg for a second book as a follow up. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Ciana,
Thanks so much for your message. I’m really glad you liked the book. Sorry to say, I am not writing a follow-up or sequel novel. I am writing another book, but it’s not related to The Silver Road. (Please don’t hold that against it).
cheers,
Grace
hi, I remember borrowing this book form the school library so I wouldn’t get in trouble for forgetting to bring novel to read for english. I finished the book I was reading originally and then I though that I might read this book a bit. A week later, I found myself reading the last page. anyways, please reconsider and write up a sequel, I hate to know that there will be none. in the end, when zuven just walks off into anyway it relly makes me some mountains it sounds like she just went off to kill herself (i hope not)wanna know what happens..
Hi there,
Thanks for your comment. I’m sorry, but I really won’t be writing a sequel. Maybe I didn’t write it as well as I could, but the book feels finished to me, and now I’m working on something else. It took more than five years to write, so my next book has to be something that really really interests me otherwise i’ll be too lazy to finish it.
best wishes,
Grace
Hello, I’ve just finished reading the Silver Road, which I borrowed from my school library, on Phillip Island (think penguins). It was really great, especially as it is your first novel, a wonderful beginning!
I really liked the setting and backround of it, did you have any time period or region in mind when you were designing the history of the kingdom?
I understand that you are not writing a sequel, but what did you imagine would happen to Zuven and Haga in the future? Endings like yours make me realise how I secretly yearn for romantic endings, and happy ones too.
I look forward to reading the Motherland Garden when it is published. Is that likely to be any time soon? Any chance of a plot summary, I am very curious.
Dear Ms Dugan,
Um, since ur not planning on writing a follow up which you shoud totally do, maybe you could write us a little epilogue to like finish it up? like if Zuvren gets reunited with Haga and becomes queen again etcera? sorry if i got some details wrong. i read your book a while ago and was hoping for a sequel. your a brilliant writer.
Marlie
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for your lovely comments about the book. In terms of the setting, mostly I tried to make it not an identifiable setting from history. I’ve read some fantasy books where it’s just like Spain in the 1400s or just like feudal Japan, and I really didn’t want that. A lot of it just grew along with the story (ie. I made it up as I went along).
I’d rather not say what I think will happen to the characters. I only have vague ideas anyway. Your guess is as good as mine.
I’m afraid The Motherland Garden won’t be published for a good while yet as I actually haven’t finished it. I’ve been on a bit of a break for a number of reasons and now I’m finally getting some work done. Wish me luck.
As for a plot summary, I hate writing them, but someone asked for one in an email interview, so I’ve got to do it. I’ll post it here as well.
cheers,
Grace
Hi Marlie,
Thanks for your comments. I’ve thought about writing an epilogue, or a short story which follows up with the characters a bit further on, but I haven’t had any good ideas for it. Maybe it will come to me one day. Until then, you’ll have to make it up yourself :-)
cheers,
Grace
Hi Grace,
My name is Tara Sanders, I live in a small town in Queensland. I just wanted to thank you for writing such a fantastic novel, and inspiring my own stories and poems. Although i was disappointed to learn that you will not be writing a sequel i can see why you wouldn’t want too. The Silver Road was such a fantastic novel that it would be pointless to risk ruining the original. I liked the ending and although Haga and Zuvren didn’t end up staying together, it make things more realistic because no one can go through a struggle like Zuvren’s and come out willing to accept another person into their life fully and completely. However if you do write a sequel you can count on me reading it, because that’s what i do, I read and i love it.
Thank You for writing The Silver Road and i look forward to reading your next novel.
Tara
Hi Tara,
Thanks for your lovely message. I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the book so much, and I really understand what you’ve said about the ending.
At the moment I’m struggling with my next book, and it’s always motivating to get some praise :-) I’m afraid it will be a little while before it’ll be on the shelves, I’ve got quite a bit more work to do.
Best of luck with your own writing.
best wishes,
Grace